THE  HISTORIC  CHARACTER 

OF  TUE 

AMERICAN  MORAVIAN  CHURCH. 


Discourse 

Preached,  bj  »ppointmeDt> 

BEFORE  THE 

BY 

EDMUND  DE  SCHWEINITZ, 

Pastor  of  the  Church  at  Bethlehem,  Peon. 


Pabllsbcd  ttjr  «rd«r  of  flynoA^ 


BETHLEHEM  t 
MORAVIAN  PUBLICATION  OFFICK 
1867. 


r 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


Agreeable  to  the  appointment  made  by  the  President  of  the  Synod  of  1864, 
the  following  discourse  was  preached  in  the  evening  of  the  first  day  of  the 
Triennial  Provincial  Synod  of  the  Northern  District  of  the  Moravian  Church 
convened  at  Litiz,  Penn.,  from  the  22d  to  the  31st  of  May,  1867,  and  is  now 
published  in  accordance  with  a.  resolution  unanimously  adopted  by  that  body. 


"  Remember  the  days  of  old,  consider  the  years  of  many 
generations  ;  ask  thy  father,  and  he  avill  shew  thee ; 

THY  ELDERS,  AND  THEY  WILL  TELL  THEE."     Dout.  XXxii,  7. 

The  idea  underlying  the  enactment  which  provides  for  the 
preaching  of  a  discourse  before  our  Synod  is  not  that  such  a  dis- 
course shall  be  what  is  commonly  called  "the  Synodical  Address," 
or  that  it  shall  be  confined  within  the  limits  of  ordinary  sermons 
and  treat  of  a  general  theme  remotely  applicable  to  the  Church 
we  represent ;  but  rather  that  some  particular  point — I  cite  the 
very  language  of  the  resolution — in  her  histor}-,  princij)les,  ritual, 
or  polity,  shall  be  set  forth  and  illustrated.  Accordingly  I  pro- 
pose to  speak,  to-night,  on  the  historic  character  of  the  Amaioan 
Brethren's  Church. 

I  am  led  to  do  this  by  three  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  our 
present  convocation  bears  all  the  dignity,  and  is  beautified  by  all 
the  associations,  of  a  fourth  centennial  jubilee.  We  celebrate  the 
completion  of  the  ecclesiastical  structure  of  our  venerable  Church- 
the  institution  among  our  forefathers  of  a  ministry  of  their  own, 
at  the  Synod  of  Lhota,  on  the  Barony  of  Eeichenau,  in  Bohemia ; 
.and  the  transfer  to  them  from  the  Bohemian  Waklenscs  of  that 
ancient  episcopate  which  we  still  possess,  which  was  preserved  with 
such  care,  in  the  midst  of  persecutions  and  exile,  by  those  who 
came  before  us,  and  which  constitutes  the  organic  link  that  makes 
the  Brethren's  Church  of  to-day  a  legitimate  succession  of  the 
Unitas  Fratrum  of  old.*  In  the  next  place,  ecclesiastical  history, 
whether  in  its  general  aspect,  or  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  jiartic- 
ular  church — to  adojit  tl;e  words  of  that  illustrious  divine  who  de- 
servedly bears  the  title  of  "the  father  of  modern  church  history" — 


*  The  Brethren's  Church  was  founded,  in  1457,  on  the  Barony  of  Lititz,  in  the 
north-eastern  part  of  Rohemia,  by  pious  followers  of  John  Huss.  Her  first  min- 
isters were  priests  of  the  ("alixtine  or  National  Church.  The  question  of  a  total 
separation  from  the  latter,  and  of  the  institution  of  a  ministry  of  tlieir  own,  occu- 
pied the  attention  of  the  Brethren  for  ten  years,  and  was,  at  last,  decided  affirma- 
tively hy  the  use  of  the  lot,  which  also  designated  the  first  candidates  for  holy 
orders,  namely,  Matthias  of  Kunwalde,  Thomas  of  Prelouc,  and  Elias  of  ('hreno- 
vie.  These  were  ordained,  Matthias  as  Bishop,  Thomas  and  Elias  as  pricst.s,  by 
Bifthop  Michael  Bradacius  and  two  other  bishops,  who  had  obtained  the 
episcopal  succession  at  the  hands  of  the  Bohemian  Waldensian  Bishop  Stephen 
and  his  colleagues.    All  these  events  occurred  just  four  centuries  ago,  in  1467. 


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is  "  a  school  of  Christian  experience,  a  voice  of  edification,  in- 
struction and  warning  for  all  who  will  hear,  sounding  through  the 
ages  of  the  past."  And,  finally,  the  stage  of  development  which 
the  Moravian  Church  in  this  country  has  reached  seems  to  me  to 
render  my  theme  both  opportune  and  necessary. 

It  is  self-evident  that  in  handling  such  a  subject  I  must  present 
my  own  views.  The  facts  which  I  may  bring  forward  stand  fast, 
and  cannot  be  overtlu'own.  For  truth  as  revealed  by  history  is 
like  the  everlasting  rock  that  towers  above  the  sea  ;  it  breaks  the 
force  of  every  wave,  no  matter  how  subversive  its  tendency.  But 
the  deductions  drawn  from  the  facts  are  subjective.  Their  correct- 
ness can  be  established  by  experience  only.  They  arrogate  no 
authority,  but  are  meant  simply  to  suggest  thoughts  upon  topics 
involving  the  best  interests  of  the  Church.  Indeed,  this  is  the 
sole  aim  of  the  discourses  which  Synod  has  appointed.  I  trust, 
therefore,  that  in  anything  I  may  advance  I  shall  not  be  under- 
stood as  taking  advantage  of  the  present  occasion,  whicli  admits  of 
no  replies,  but  that  the  impossibility  of  withholding  personal  opin- 
ions, except  by  dealing  in  generalities  and  platitudes,  will  be  gen- 
erously conceded.  At  the  same  time,  I  would  say  to  my  brethren, 
in  the  language  of  the  apostle  :  "  Prove  all  things  ;  hold  fast  that 
which  is  good." 

The  words  of  the  text  belong  to  the  farewell-song  which  Mosea 
spake  in  the  ears  of  all  the  congregation  of  Israel.  Applying 
them  to  ourselves  as  a  people  of  God,  I  proceed  to  consider,  first, 
what  the.  historic  character  of  the  American  Brethren's  Chtirch  was, 
next,  lohat  it  now  is,  and,  last,  what  it  may  lawfully  become. 

I.  "With  regard  to  the  historic  character  of  our  Church  as  it  was, 
the  text  says  :  "Ask  thy  father,  and  he  will  shew  thee ;  thy  elders 
and  they  will  tell  thee."  We  will  do  this  by  looking  into  the 
early  history  of  the  Church.  Our  fathers  came  to  this  country  in 
the  second  quarter  of  the  last  century.  In  Europe,  they  had  pur- 
sued a  systetn  of  polity  which  suited  to  that  Continent.*  Amidst  a 
dense  population  overstocking  the  land,  little  towns  exclusively 
Moravian  could  not  but  prosper.  Their  mercantile  establishments 
and  shops  afforded  honest  employment,  their  Brethren's  and  Sis- 
ters' Houses  gave  the  indigent  of  both  sexes  a  home;  while  such 
as  longed  to  escape  from  the  cold  formalism  of  state-churches 
found  these  settlements  to  be  cheerful  sanctuaries  where  they  could 


*  The  basis  of  this  system  was  Spener'a  idea  of  ecclesiolae  in  ecclesia — little 
churches  within  the  cliurch — carried  out  and  developed  by  Zinzendorf  to  an  extent 
which  the  former  had  never  intended.  Zinzendorf  made  a  Moravian  parish  to 
be  not  merely  a  church  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but  likewise  an  isolated  community, 
an  exclusive  town,  whose  municipal  government,  industrial  pursuits,  and  social 
relations  were  all  under  the  control  of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  all  regu- 
lated to  the  promotion  of  godliness. 


6 


chjoy  feliVioti  and  devote  themeelvcs  to  the  excrciso  of  pol-soiial 

f»iety,  undisturbed  by  the  distractions  of  the  world.  Nor  were  the 
nfluences  of  the  Diaspora,  or  Domestic  Mission,  streaming  from 
such  centres  into  every  part  of  Europe  less  sucecssiul ;  for  they 
were  again  in  harmony  with  the  eecltsiastical  status  of  the  various 
countries  Avhieh  they  reached.  Nominal  Christians,  whom  the 
law  of  the  land  had  forced  to  make  a  profession,  were  to  be  con- 
stituted true  Christians,  without  separating  them  from  the  churches 
to  which  they  belongedi 

Now  this  system,  in  all  its  parts,  the  Brethren  brought  with 
them  to  the  New  World.  But  here  existed  a  state  of  affairs 
wholly  different  from  that  in  Europe.  Here  was  a  wivle  field  for 
industry  ;  the  poorest  man  hud  abundant  opi)ortunitics  tt>  gain  a 
livelihood.  Here  was  not  an  excess,  but  a  lack  of  })opu]ation. 
Here,  and  especially  in  Pennsylvania,  prevailed  not  only  religioua 
liberty,  but  thousands  of  per.sons  were  in  connection  with  no 
church,  deprived  of  the  moans  of  grace,  spiritually  carelef?s  and 
neglected.  Here,  therefore,  it  was  the  duty  of  Christians  of  every 
oarae  to  organize,  to  found  churches,  to  bring  their  converts  into 
their  own  courts  and  bestow  upon  them  their  oAvn  name.  There 
was  no  other  way  of  successfully  evangelizing  America. 

This  our  fathers  failed  to  see.    They  clung  to  their  German 

fiolity.  They  resolved  to  build  exclusive  towns  for  the  Brethren, 
ike  those  in  Saxony  and  Wetteravia,  Avith  all  their  complicated 
financial  appliances  and  semi-communistic  arrangements  ;  and  to 
let  these  be,  on  the  one  hand,  places  of  reftige  in  tlie  event  ot  the 
expulsion  of  the  Moravians  from  Germany,  and,  on  the  other, 
points  of  departure  for  missionary  activity  among  those  destitute 
of  the  Gospel,  who  were,  however,  by  no  means  to  be  received 
into  the  Moravian  Church,  but  merely  to  be  converted  by  Mora-- 
vian  preaching  and  brought  into  fellowship  with  one  another. 
Accordingly,  Bethlehem,  Nazareth — with  its  affiliated  stations  at 
Christiansbrunn  and  Gnadenthal — and  later,  I^itiz,  arose,  all  settle- 
ments on  the  European  plan  ;  and  through  the  efforts  of  Count  Zin- 
zendorf,  in  conjunction  with  prominent  Lutherans  and  Eelbrmcd, 
"the  Congregation  of  God  in  the  Spirit"  was  instituted,  union 
synods,  embracing  Moravians,  Lutherans,  Reformed,  Mennonites, 
Baptists,  and  others,  were  held  in  Pennsylvania,  and  zealous  heralds 
of  the  C'ross  traversed  the  country  seeking  to  win  souls  for  Christ, 
But,  while  the  exclusive  system  was  elaborated  even  more  fully  than 
in  Euroj)e,  putting  restraint  upon  personal  liberty  and  interfering 
with  the  sacred  relations  of  the  family.  In  a  way,  and  to  a  degree, 
that  appear  to  us  of  this  generation  almost  incredible;  while  the 
anticipations  of  the  Brethren  were  fulfilled,  and  hundreds  of  them, 
driven  from  the  Wetteravian  churches,  came  to  swell  the  j)opula- 
tion  of  the  Moravian  towns  in  America  ;  while  this  fir.st  period  of 


our  history  in  the  New  World  was  distinguished  by  a  faith  audi 
self-denials  and  a  devotedness  never  surpassed  since  the  renewal  of 
the  Church  ;  the  union-project,  with  all  its  catholicity  and  ideal 
beauty,  proved  a  complete  failure.  Instead  of  more  closely 
cementing  religionists,  it  made  a  wider  breach  between  them;  and 
what  Zinzendorf,  with  lofty  hopes,  had  brought  into  existence  in 
1742,  his  son-in-law.  Bishop  John  de  Watteville,  was  constrained 
to  abrogate  in  1748,  "  The  Congregation  of  God  in  the  Spirit" 
was  given  up,  and  the  Union  or  so-called  Pennsylvania  Synod 
changed  into  a  synod  of  the  Moravian  Church, 

This  was  an  epoch  in  our  ecclesiastical  history,  originated  by  the 
Lord  himself,  and  overruled  to  the  accomplishing  of  the  very  end 
which  our  fathers  had  so  earnestly  striven  to  avoid.  In  the  inter- 
ests of  the  union-scheme  or  the  religious  denominations  to  which 
the  neighboring  settlers  traditionally  belonged,  thei'e  had  been  be- 
gun a  number  of  stations  in  various  parts  of  the  land.  The  con- 
verts gathered  at  these  now  clamored,  with  one  accord,  for  admis- 
sion into  the  fellowship  of  the  Moravian  Church.  From  some  of 
these  posts  such  requests  had  come  even  prior  to  this  period,  and 
had  been  reluctantly  granted.  The  new  overtures  could,  therefore, 
not  be  consistently  declined.  It  would,  moreover,  have  been  a 
wrong,  of  which  the  Brethren  Avere  incapable,  to  leave  so  many 
souls  without  the  means  of  grace.  In  this  way,  contrary  to  their 
intentions  and  wishes,  the  Church  was  enlarged,  until,  about  fifteen 
years  after  the  founding  of  Bethlehem,  she  counted,  besides  the 
centres  I  mentioned  before,  congregations  atSchoeneck,  Maguntsche, 
(the  present  Emmaus),  Allemaengel,  Oley,  Heidelberg,  Hebron, 
Bethel,  Dansbury,  Mt.  Joy,  Lancaster,  York  and  Philadelphia,  in 
Pennsylvania  ;  in  New  York  City  and  Staten  Island,  in  New  York ; 
at  Old  Man's  Creek,  in  New  Jersey  ;  at  Sichem,  in  Connecticut ; 
at  Newport,  in  Rhode  Island  ;  at  Broadbay,  in  Maine ;  and  at  Car- 
rol's Manor  and  Manocksy  (Gracehara),  in  Maryland.  I  omit  all 
reference  to  the  work  in  North  Carolina,  because,  from  its  first  in- 
ception, that  was  under  an  ecclesiastical  government  of  its  own. 

Here,  then,  was  a  second  opportunity  granted  to  our  fathers,  nay 
almost  forced  upon  them  by  God's  own  ordering  of  events,  to  ex- 
tend the  ancient  Moravian  Church  in  the  New  World.  Twenty- 
five  congregations,  as  many  as  we  now  have,  not  counting  those  of 
the  Home  Mission  field,  in  that  era  of  the  American  Colonies,  was 
an  auspicious  beginning;  and,  amidst  the  religious  destitution  which 
prevailed,  a  most  evident  call  for  the  Brethren  to  go  in  and  possess 
the  land.  If  they  could  have  persuaded  themselves  that  it  was 
now  their  duty  to  labor  in  accordance  with  new  principles ;  if  they 
had  allowed  these  twenty-five  congregations,  representing  not  less 
than  seven  of  the  original  thirteen  Colonies,  to  expand  in  a  natural 


7 


wav,  unshackled  by  the  clogs  of  their  European  system  ;  If  they 
had  made  of  them  twenty-five  chu'-ches  severally  depending  upon 
their  own  members  for  support,  and  permitted  them  to  grow  by  the 
same  simple  yet  irresistible  development  which  was  infusing 
strength  and  ])ower  into  all  other  American  church-organizations  j 
in  short,  if  thoy  had  given  free  scope  to  the  Moravian  element^ 
which  was  so  largely  represented  by  immigrants  from  Moravia, 
and  which,  in  the  foreign  mission  field  was,  at  that  very  time,  be- 
ginning to  christianize  the  world  ;  we  would,  by  the  blessing  of 
Almighty  God,  this  day,  be  one  of  the  leading  and  most  influential 
religious  denominations  of  the  United  States. 

So  far,  however,  from  following  this  road,  our  fathers  again 
brought  forward  their  peculiar  system  of  exclusivism,  incited  by 
the  assumption  which  had  gained  ground  among  them,  more  and 
(Dore,  that  the  Brethren  were  the  Israel  of  the  New  Covenant,  a 
chosen  generation,  to  which  Christ  stood  in  a  peculiar  relationship- 
The  city  and  country  stations  which  had  fallen  to  them  must  be 
moulded  accordingly.  They  could  not  be  transformed  into  Mora- 
vian towns,  but  they  could  be  rendered  like  them  in  principle. 
Hence  were  introduced  the  same  ideas  regarding  the  support  of  the 
ministry  through  funds  or  farms,  and  not  by  the  direct  contribu- 
tions of  the  membership;  the  same  excessive  use  of  the  lot,  partic 
ularly  in  the  admission  of  new  members,  so  that  no  one,  even  if  he 
gave  the  most  convincing  proofs  of  fitness,  could  become  a  Mora- 
vian unless  the  lot,  cast  by  the  authorities  at  Bethlehem,  had  first 
granted  him  permission  ;  the  same  anxiety  to  keep  the  Church 
small  ;  and  the  same  spirit  of  interference  with  the  private  and 
personal  affairs  of  the  individual.  The  consequences  were  inevit- 
able. While  the  regular  towns,  in  despite  of  the  stringency  of 
their  system,  were  kept  up  by  immigi-atiou  from  Germany,  the  city 
and  country  congregations,  abnormal  in  character,  neither  exclu- 
sive settlements  nor  ordinary  churches,  had  but  a  sickly  existence  ; 
some  of  them  pined  away  very  rapidly  and  were  soon  relinquished, 
others,  with  a  handful  of  members,  lingered  longer,  but  at  last  died 
out  too.  Of  the  twenty-five  places  wliich  the  Brethren  possessed 
about  the  middle  of  the  hist  century,  there  remain  to  us  but  eleven; 
fourteen  of  them,  namely,  Gnadenthal,  Christiansbrunn,  Alle- 
maengel,  Oley,  Heidelberg,  Hebron,  Bethel,  Dansbury,  Mt.  Joy, 
Old  Man's  Creek,  Sichem,  Newport,  Broadbay,  and  Carrol's  Ma- 
nor, belong  to  the  things  that  were. 

Nor  were  new  enterprises  inaugurated  in  a  ratio  commensurate 
to  such  a  loss.  During  a  period  of  seventy-five  years,  down  to 
the  end  of  the  firstquarter  of  the  present  century,  but  four  churches 
were  founded,  and  two  of  these  were  total  failures  and  no  longer 
exist,  namely,  the  Moravian  town  at  Hope,  in  New  Jersey,  and  the 


8 


fctatron  at  Gnadenhuetten,  on  the  Mahbny,  in  Pennsylvania.  Th« 
other  two,  Gnadenhuctten  and  Sharon  in  Ohio,  still  live,  and  llave 
grown  to  be  prosperous;  but  they  would  never  have  been  com- 
fiaenced  if  necessity  had  not  been  laid  upon  the  Brethren  either  to 
settle,  or  to  relinquish,  the  tract  of  land  in  the  Tuscarawas  Valley 
granted  by  Congress,  for  the  benefit  of  Christian  Indians,  to  the 
Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  Heathen." 

Our  fathers  saw  this  numerical  decline  of  the  Church,  but  were 
not  alarmed.  It  did  not  conflict  with  their  principles.  To  lengthen 
her  cords  and  strengthen  her  stakes  was  not  their  mission.  Mora- 
vian towns,  with  their  many  appliances,  still  formeil  the  great  ob*- 
ject  of  their  care.  The  more  difficult  a  task  it  grew  to  uphold 
them,  and  the  more  evident  it  became  that  they  were  not  in  keep* 
ing  with  the  genius  of  this  country,  the  more  earnestly  did  general, 
provincial  and  local  conferences  strive  to  preserve  their  integrity. 
Meanwhile  the  <  ther  congregations  were  deemed  to  be  of  secondary 
importance,  and  looked  upon  as  little  more  than  preaching-places 
with  select  bands  of  the  faithful  clustering  around  them. 

This  state  of  affairs,  with  but  slight  modifications,  lasted  until 
decent  times — times  in  which  brethren  who  are  to-day  still  on  the 
floor  of  Synod  labored  for  the  Church  and  the  Lord;  and  nothing 
shows  more  convincingly  the  absorbing  relation  which  the  exclu- 
sivo  settlements  bore  to  the  Province  than  the  circumstance  that  at 
all  Synods,  or  Preparatory  Conferences  as  they  were  styled — for  they 
were  not  allowed  the  dignity  of  a  Synod,  being  held  at  long  inter- 
vals and  merely  prior  to  a  General  Synod^there  were  two  distinct 
bodies  forming  the  assembly,  the  one  composed  of  the  many  repre 
sentatives  of  the  three  Moravian  towns,  the  other  of  the  few  repre- 
sentatives of  the  city  and  country  stations.  The  deliberations  of 
these  two  divisions  were  independent  one  of  another,  but,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course^  the  former  was,  in  point  of  fact,  the  Synod.  At  the 
same  time,  the  Synod  was,  practically,  but  an  advisory  committee 
of  the  Provincial  Helpers'  Conference. 

Such  are  the  truths  which  we  learn  when  we  ask  our  fathers  to 
show  us  their  principles,  and  our  ciders  to  tell  us  of  their  work; 
and  such,  I  may  add  in  passing,  is  the  all-sufficient  answer  to  the 
fluestion  which  we  often  hear  :  "  Why  is  the  Moravian  Church  so 
small  ?" 

Now  from  the  point  of  view  thus  gained  we  may  estimate  the 
historic  character  of  our  Zion  in  this  country,  as  it  was.  The  Breth- 
ren who  settled  here,  whatever  errors  of  judgment  they  may  in  our 
opinion  have  committed,  knew  full  well  what  they  wanted. 
Their  policy  was  clearly  cut,  and  the  goal  toward  which  it  pointed 
was  set  up  squarely  with  all  its  distinctive  peculiarities.  The 
American  Province  of  the  Unitas  Fratrum  united  with  its  Conti* 


^aental  and  British  Provinces  organically  and  not  merely,  as  now, 
in  the  way  of  a  confederation,  was  to  nurse  at  her  bosom  little 
churches  within  the  church,  to  afford  retreats  for  godly  souls  where 
they  could  spend  their  days  in  quietness,  to  build  citiea  of  refuge 
from  tl\e  contaminations  of  the  world,  to  erect  habitations  of  God 
for  tlie  fostering  of  education  and  missionary  zeal,  of  simplicity  and 
lowlimindeilness,  of  a  guileless  spirit  and  a  beautiful  brotherhood.. 
A  Moravian  of  that  day  coming  forth  from  his  sequestered  town 
?and  mingling  with  his  fellow  Christians  was  at  once  recognized  as 
a  Moravian.  He  was  the  representative  of  a  peculiar  people  as 
^inmistakably  as  the  Quaker  still  is.  In  dress,  in  manners,  in  con- 
versation, in  humility,  and,  above  all,  in  unobtrusive  but  trans- 
parent devoutness,  he  made  his  mark  wherever  he  came.  There 
was  an  unction  in  his  whole  bearing  which  none  could  fail  to  re- 
"cognizc.  And  such  distinctiveness  influenced  the  city  and  country 
stations  also.  The  spirit  which  they  manifested  was  derived  from 
the  church-settlements.  They  were  little  planets  reflecting  the 
light  of  these  suns  of  Moravianism.  In  Philadelphia,  for  exam- 
ple,no  religioniststood  higher  than  the  United  Brethren.  Theirhon- 
<esty  and  uprightness,  their  love  of  peace,  their  fraternal  fellowship 
with  all  who  were  God's  dear  children,  and  their  silent  protest 
•against  the  fashions,  follies  and  gaitics  of  the  world,  were  prover- 
bial. When  the  aged  men  among  them  came  out  of  the  former 
^*  Congregation  House"  on  Race  Street,  and  walked  to  their  homes, 
lother  men  hastened  to  make  way  for  them,  and  bowed  to  them 
with  sincere  respect.  The  unassuming  dignity  of  a  royal  priest- 
hood impressed  even  the  carnal. 

Thus  did  the  Church  maintain  the  historic  character  which  she 
had  brought  with  her  from  Germany,  and  which  Zinzendorf,  coil- 
trary  to  the  wishes  of  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Bohemian 
•and  Moravian  Brethren,  had  impressed  upon  her  life  ;  thus  did  she 
practically  show  the  beauty  of  contemplative,  but  not  the  energy  of 
-•active  religion  ;  thus  did  she  enjoy  the  happiness  of  a  Bethany,  but 
not  the  glory  of  a  Jerusalem.  Far  be  it  from  me,  from  me  espec- 
ially, or  from  any  one  hero  present,  to  asjxjrse  the  memory  of  those 
who  came  before  us.  They  conscientiously  believed  their  polity  to 
he  the  best  for  the  furtherance  of  Christ's  Kingdom  in  this  coun- 
try. We  may  entertain  a  different  view  ;  but  yet,  who  will  not 
bend  with  reverence  at  the  shrine  of  a  system  based  upon  a  de- 
votcdness  to  God,  an  abnegation  of  self,  a  longing  for  personal  pie- 
ty in  its  highest  forms,  for  a  daily  fellowship  with  the  Savior  in  its 
most  enjoyable  reality,  that  puts  to  shame  the  formalism,  pride  and 
vain-glory  which  make  up  much  of  the  so-called  religion  of  oui 
day? 

II.  Proceeding  to  the  next  point  in  my  investigation,  I  inquire 


10 


wJhatthe  historic  character  of  the  American  Brethren's  Chtlrch  ti<m 
is.  We  will  gain  clearness  with  regard  to  this  question  by  briefly 
pursuing  our  history. 

Twenty-four  years  ago,  in-  1843;  occurred  the-  second  great  epoch 
in  the  development  of  American  Moi  avianism.  Then,  for  the  iirst 
time  since  the  original  inauguration  of  the  system,  tlie  polity  of  a 
church-settlement  was  abolished.  Bethlehem,  the  mother  of  our 
entire  ecclesiastical  Province,  threw  opei>  her  doors  to  tl>e  world,- 
It  was  the  necessary  result  of  events  that  had  been  slowly  matur-- 
ing  since  1818;  it  demonstrated  the  incompatibility  of  exclusivisn* 
with  the  spirit  and  abounding  resources  of  our  country ;  it  was- 
financially  a  wise  measure  ;  it  tended,  even  in  its  religious  aspect,- 
t,o  promote  spirituality  and  zeal  for  C-hrist's  cause ;  but  it  was  also- 
that  blow  which  shivered  the  whole  structure  built  up  by  our 
fathers,  which  took  from  the  American  Moravian  Church  her 
historic  character  and  her  distinctive  shibboleth,  which  compelled 
her  either  to  adopt  the  principles  of  activity  and  progress  that  are 
carried  out  by  all  the  other  Christian  denominations  of  the  United 
States,  or  to  accept  as  the  inevitable  alternative  a  gradual  but  sure- 
extinction.  Everything  that  followefl — -tlie  changes  at  Nazareth 
and  Litiz;  the  winding  up  ot'  their  complicated  finances;  their 
incorporation  as  churches  ;  the  constitutional  concessions  made  tc 
our  Province  by  the  General  Synod  of  1848  ;  the  agitations  at 
the  Provincial  Synod  of  1855;  the  overture  for  provincial  inde- 
pendence by  the  Synod  of  the  follwving  year  ;  the  convening  of 
another  (Jeneral  Synod,  in  1857,  expressly  in  order  to  consider  the' 
propositions  of  the  American  Church;  their  approval  by  that 
body  ;  the  consequent  remodeling  of  the  Constitution  of  the" 
whole  Unitas  Fratrum ; — was  a  legitimate  and  unavoidable  con-' 
soquence  of  that  one  epoch-measure,  and  assignted  to  us  the  posi- 
tion which  we  now  occupy. 

This  position  is  anomalotss,  Althoagh  nearly  a  quarter  of  a? 
century  has  elaj)sed  since  the  new  order  of  things,  the  Church  is- 
iitill  in  a  formative  state.  In  most  respects,  indeed,  her  progress 
has  been  gratifying.  Her  educational  institutions  liave  flourished 
in  an  unprecedented  manner ;  her  publication  enter])rise  has  been 
crowned  with  siMx;ess  ;  her  theological  school  has  advanced  ;  home 
missionary  operations,  unknown  for  seventy-five  years,  liave  been 
again  set  on  foot  and  are  conducted  with  zeal ;  and,  as  the  basis  of 
all  this,  tlic  beneficence  of  her  members  has  been  more  than  quad- 
rupled. In  one  chief  respect,  however,  she  can  hardly  be  said  to 
have  prosj)ered,  but  gives  evidence  of  an  unsettled  condition,  of  a 
want  of  strength  and  efficiency.  She  undertook  church-extension 
as  the  necessary  result  of  the  change  in  her  polity,  but  its  fruits 
have  not  been  in  proportion  to  the  means  employed  or  the  oppor- 
tunities granted.    It  is  true,  since  1843,  not  less  than  thirty  new 


11 


enterprises  have  been  begun  ;  yet  only  four  of  these  have  become 
self-sustaining;,  and  eight  are  abandoned.  Moreover,  one  of  our 
oldest,  and  formerly  one  of  our  most  influential,  churches  is  dying 
«  out ;  while  another,  founded  thirty-three  years  ago,  has  dwindled 
down  to  eighteen  members.  Upon  the  whole,  of  the  forty-three 
churclu's  at  present  constituting  our  ecclesiastical  Province,  twenty- 
five,  or  more  than  one-half,  do  not  number  one  hundred  commun- 
icants each,  and  thirteen  not  fifty  each  ;  so  that,  amidst  the  many 
thousands  swelling  the  other  hosts  of  the  Lord  in  the  United 
States,  we  are,  including  the  Moravians  of  the  South,  a  band  of 
but  sixty-two  hundred,*  and  show  scarce  the  natural  increase, 
certainly  not  more. 

I  do  not  make  these  statements  in  a  desponding  tone,  but  present 
them  simply  as  facts  which  belong  to,  and  illustrate  my  theme. 
They  seem  to  me  to  prove  conclusively  that  the  new  process  of 
ecclesiastical  development,  which  began  in  1843,  has  not  yet 
reached  its  maturity.  I  need  hardly  say,  that  the  first  and  most 
essential  reqircment  is  a  pentecostal  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  this  is  a  subject  of  which  I  am  now  not  treating.  In  addition 
to  such  a  divine  blessing,  there  is  something  else  wanting.  We 
have  no  rallying-point.  We  have  been  shorn  of  our  former  distinc- 
tiveness, and  have  put  nothing  in  its  place.  The  associations  of 
ancient  days  remain  to  us,  and  the  glory  of  our  Foreign  Mission 
work  sheds  a  lustre  upon  our  name,  and  makes  our  praise  to  be  in 
all  the  churches ;  but  in  this  whole  period  of  transformation  we 
have  never  brought  out  prominently  an  historic  character  suited  to 
this  land  and  our  new  status  in  the  same,  nay,  we  have  ourselves 
never  recognized  Avhat  it  ought  to  be.  Our  brethren  on  the  Conti- 
nent of  Europe,  and  in  Great  Britain,  manifest  such  a  character,  and 
consistantly  follow  the  principles  which  it  imposes.  It  is  the  same 
which  we  have  laid  aside.  Btit  by  what  historic  sign  are  we  known, 
or  do  we  know  ourselves?  We  look  around,  to-night,  upon  our 
work  in  the  East,  in  the  West,  in  the  South,  and  we  find  none, 
excepting  some  beautiful  reminiscences  that  hang  on  our  horizon 
like  roseate  evening  clouds.  This  is  not  only  a  want,  but  an  evil, 
and  a  very  great  one.  Scattered  as  our  few  churches  are  from  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  to  the  plains  of  Minnesota,  we  are  in  imminent 
danger  of  disintegration,  of  drifting  in  the  wake  of  other  Chris- 
tian denominations,  and  of  finally  perishing  amidst  the  absorbing 
strength  of  their  under-current.  And  even  if  there  threatened  no 
peril  of  this  kind,  can  we  go  forward  and  fulfil  our  present  mi&sion 
without  a  distinctive  character  ?  In  order  to  convert  souls  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Ave  need  employ  no  means  other  than  the 


*  Communicants  are  meant.    The  whole  number  of  souls  is  11,033. 


12 


preaching  of  the  everlasting  gospel,  accompanied  with  demonstfa" 
tions  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power,  but  in  order  to  extend  tlie  Mora- 
vian Church,  we  must,  first,  realize  by  what  right  we  keep  up  a 
separate  organization,  and  must,  then,  present  ourselves  to  llioee 
among  whom  we  labor  in  soine  historic  form.  It  is  this  which 
draws  the  converted  to  a  particular  household  of  faith.  God's 
Word  is  the  same  in  all  evangelical  churches.  By  itj>  power  men 
become  Christians  ;  but  when  they  are  Christians,  they  become  Epis- 
copalians, or  Presbyterians,  or  Lutherans,  or  Methodists,  accord- 
ing as  they  arc  attracted  by  the  distinctive  features  which  history 
confers  upon  these  various  bodies  of  believers.  Thus  must  it  be 
with  us,  too,  and  with  us  particularly.  On  account  of  our  numer- 
ical weakness,  we  need  the  .strength  of  an  historic  character  even 
more  than  other  churches. 

III.  What,  then,  I  go  on  to  inquire,  may  that  character  lawfully 
become  in  the  future?  Our  text  informs  us.  "  Kcmcmber,"  it 
says,  "  the  days  of  old,  consider  the  years  of  many  generations." 
Arbitrarily  to  create  for  ourselves  a  new  historic  form  would  be  a» 
illegitimate  as  it  is  unneccK^ary.  God  himself  has  given  us  what 
we  need. 

We  pass  by  the  .issociations  that  blossom  around  the  Hutberg 
of  Saxony,  not  in  the  si)irit  of  disdain,  but  with  sincere  veneration, 
and  go  back  beyond  the  times  of  Christian  David  and  Zinzcndorf 
and  Spangcnberg,  to  the  days  of  those  Bohemian  fathers  who  were 
gathered,  four  centuries  ago,  as  we  are  met  now,  to  deliberate  on 
Zion's  peace  and  Zion's  prosperity.  We  find  fh(m  Eefbimers 
before  the  Reformation,  earnest,  fervent-,  godly,  full  of  faith  and 
works.  We  find  them  founding  the  oldest  Brotcstant  Episcopal 
Church  that  exists,  giving  to  her  an  ecclesiastical  form  of  the  most 
perfect  symmetry,  and  taking  care  to  render  her  spiritually  the 
body  of  Christ.  Wc  find  them  making  personal  piety  a  test 
of  membership,  and  exercising  a  holy  discipline  with  an  almost 
Puritanic  severity  ;  upholding  the  Word  of  God  as  the  only  norm 
of  doctrine  and  rule  of  life  ;  confessing  Jesus  on  the  cruel  rack  and 
at  the  fiery  stake;  wandering  for  His  sake,  in  deserts,  and  in  moun- 
tains, and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.  We  find  them,  in  later 
times,  taking  eoun.sel  with  Luther  and  Melanethon,  Calvin  and 
Bucer,  and  many  other  Reformers  of  (iermany  and  Switzerland; 
catholic  in  feeling,  broad  in  their  brotherhood,  promoting  union 
among  all  Protestants,  eon.stituting,  through  the  immortal  Covtcn^ 
sus  Scndomiriensis,  even  more  than  a  modern  Evangelical  Alliance, 
and  yet  ever  maintaining  their  own  constitution  and  order;  urging 
upon  their  ccntcmporaries  the  necessity  of  a  pure  church  ;  exhibit- 
ing in  practice  holy  living,  and  not  merely  a  reform  of  doctrine. 
In  the  irresistible  power  of  these  God-begotten  principles,  we  find 


13 


them  spreading  throughout  Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  Poland,  in 
spite  of  unceasing  persecutions;  converting  the  highest  magnates 
of  these  realms,  educating  tlie  young  of  all  classes  of  society,  using 
the  press  with  almost  its  present  efficiency,  scattering  bibles,  hymn- 
books,  and  catechisms  broadcast  over  these  lands,  and  enriching 
them  with  a  religious  literature  in  so  classic  a  vernacular  that  it 
remains  a  model  unto  this  day.    In  brief,  we  find  them  an  active, 

f>rogressive,  influential  body  of  Christians,  a  church  built  up  of 
ively  stones,  offering  spiritual  sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  by 
Jesus  Christ.  We  meet  with  them  again,  and  to  some  extent  and 
in  comparison  with  the  exaltedness  of  their  original  standard,  they 
have  fallen  from  their  first  love.  But  soon  they  return  to  the  Lord 
their  Maker,  amidst  the  last  storm  of  antichristian  rage  that  over- 
whelms them  ;  they  accept,  by  the  thousands,  exile  ratlicr  than 
apostacy;  are  finally  reduced  to  but  a  *'  hidden  seed,"  and  continue 
such  until  the  appointed  time  of  refreshing.  Then  they  renew 
their  youth  like  the  eagle's,  come  forth  from  obscurity  with  their 
episcopate  and  discipline  intact,  with  their  faith  and  zeal  rejuvena- 
ted ;  give  life  and  form  and  an  illustrious  name  to  our  present 
Church,  extend  her  to  this  Western  Continent,  and  bear  the  stand- 
ard of  the  Lord  to  the  most  degraded  heathen  tribes. 

From  these  fathers  we  derive  that  historic  character  which  we 
may  lawfully  assume  in  the  future.  It  is  in  harmony  with  our 
present  position  in  the  United  States,  and  it  is  just  what  we  require 
in  order  to  render  that  position  strong  and  practically  available  in 
our  labors  for  Christ.  For,  this  character  will  prove  to  be  the 
missing  link  in  the  chain  of  development  that  has  been  welded 
since  the  year  1843.  It  will  promote  unity  among  us,  preserve  us 
from  disintegration,  keep  off  from  our  altars  strange  fire,  create  a 
common  tendency,  a  harmonious  aim,  and,  by  the  blessing  of  our 
fathers'  God,  crown  our  work  with  abounding  success. 

I  desire  to  be  fully  understood.  I  do  not,  at  this  time,  advocate 
constitutional  changes,  or  anything  of  that  sort.  I  plead  merely 
for  a  positive  assumption  and  distinct  manifestation  of  that  historic 
character  which  we  have  ever  had,  but  which  has  been  latent 
among  us.  Let  it  rise  to  power.  Let  it  be  brought  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  our  ministers  ;  let  it  be  impressed  upon  our  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry  ;  let  it  be  taught  in  our  theological  school ; 
let  it  kindle  enthusiasm  in  the  hearts  of  our  students ;  let  our 
people  recognize  its  glory  and  so  learn  to  love  and  honor  the  ven- 
erable church  of  confessors  and  martyrs  to  which  they  belong ; 
let  it  be  made  known  in  the  land,  through  the  press  and  every 
other  proper  agency,  wherever  we  come  to  begin  new  enterprises ; 
and  to  the  question  —  "Who  are  the  Moravians?" — which  not 
unfrequently  encounters  us,  let  it  trumpet,  with  no  uncertain 


sound,  the  stately  answer.  In  a  word,  having  for  a  whole  century 
in  vain  attempted  to  make  the  Zinzendortian  system  flourish  on 
America,n  soil ;  and  having  now  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  been 
without  a  distinctive  character  ;  let  us  take  up  the  thread  of  the  his- 
toric development  broken  off  when  our  Moravian  forefathers,  at  the 
founding  of  Bethlehem,  were  constrained  to  accept  the  exclusive 
polity  of  their  German  leaders,  and,  in  the  name  of  Him  who 
revealed  His  divine  will  to  the  men  of  Lhota,  four  hundred  years 
ago,  build  up  the  ancient  Brethren's  Church,  the  Church  of  Gregory 
and  Matthias,  of  Luke  and  Augusta,  of  Blahoslav  and  Comcnius, 
in  this  Western  World. 

In  saying  this,  I  think  not  merely  of  provincial  success,  and  not 
at  all  of  a  sectional  Moravian  name ;  as  little  as  I  imagine  that  we 
will  ever  grow  numerically  a  very  large  body,  rivaling  other 
Christian  denominations  of  our  land,  the  time  for  that  being  irre- 
vocably past.  But  I  do  think  of  Christ's  kingdom  and  of  the 
Savior's  glory.  I  do  hope  and  pray  that  the  United  Brethren,  in 
all  the  earth,  may  be  found  faithful  to  their  mission  when  the  Lord 
shall  come.  We  live  in  a  momentous  era.  The  power  of  God  is 
sweeping  over  the  globe;  the  white  horse  and  its  rider  with  bow 
and  crown  are  gone  forth  conquering  and  to  conquer ;  the  evangeli- 
zation of  the  human  race  is  at  hand.  Is  a  Church  like  ours,  small 
yet  established  in  every  Continent  and  on  many  isles  of  tlie  sea, 
embracing  a  whole  constellation  of  nationalities,  with  a  history  un- 
paralleled in  all  history,  once  extinct  and  then  renewed — is  such  a 
Church  to  take  no  part  in  this  final  triumph  of  the  gospel  ?  What 
you  may  think,  my  brethren,  I  know  not;  but  as  for  me,  I  believe 
that  the  Unitas  Fratrum  has  been  kept  as  one  confederated  body 
throughout  the  world  until  this  day,  in  order  to  perform  in  the 
future  greater  achievements  than  ever  in  the  past. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  be  a  prophet ;  but  as  I  stand  here  and  look 
into  the  years  to  come,  I  behold  the  Christianity  of  a  new  age  put- 
ting on  its  strength ;  I  see  works  done  in  God  as  never  before 
mighty  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds;  I  discern  America 
leading  the  van  of  the  armies  of  the  Lord,  and  Europe  shaking 
herself  from  the  dust,  stripping  off  the  fetters  of  despotism,  separat- 
ing the  church  from  the  state,  and  setting  religion  free;  and,  as  this 
morning's  red  of  millenlial  glory  breaks  upon  my  view,  I  catch 
a  glimpse  of  a  renovated  Unitas  Fratrum,  combining  the  best  ele- 
ments of  all  its  historic  periods,  labouring  for  Christ  with  a  con- 
centrated energy  worthy  of  such  an  age,  possessing  once  more  its 
early  seats  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  enlarging  its  foreign  mission- 
field  to  unprecedented  dimensions,  sending  natives  of  the  West 
Indies  and  the  Cape  Colony  to  convert  the  teeming  multitudes  of 
Central  Africa,  advancing  with  a  host  from  the  table-lands  of  the 


15 


Himalayas  into  the  very  heart  of  China,  and,  whether  at  home  or 
abroad,  whether  in  Germany,  or  England,  or  the  United  States, 
carried  forward  by  an  outjwuring  of  its  ancient  "witness  spirit" 
such  as  has  not  yet  been  known,  with  the  whole  church  of  the 
future,  toward  that  consummation  of  wliich  great  v-^oioes  shall  say 
in  heaven  :  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdom« 
of  our  I»rd,  and  of  His  Christ" 

"  Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above 
all  that  we  ask  or  think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us : 
unto  Him  be  glory  in  the  church  by  Christ  Jesus  throughout  all 
ages,  world  without  end.  Amen-" 


( 


I 


